the essential
A winegrower from Montels, near Gaillac, has vanished. For two years, the 25 hectares of vines at Château d’Arlus have been abandoned. Neighbors and elected officials are worried.
Located on the second clay-limestone terraces of the right bank of the Tarn, this terroir, particularly spoiled by nature, produces magnificent white wines. But here, on the grounds of Arlus Castle, everything is nothing but desolation.
The sight is distressing: abandoned vines from which bunches of rotten grapes hang, shrubs growing between the rows in the middle of wild grass. “You risk coming across a wild boar but the owner of the place” laughs a walker.
DDM – MPV
What has become of Lucien Schmitt, this winegrower of Alsatian origin, established since 2000? “He disappeared overnight, without leaving an address,” says Ludovic Rau, the mayor of Montels. “I sent him numerous emails, without ever a response,” he continues. In the village, rumors are rife to explain the departure of this winemaker whose white wines have been regularly featured in the Hachette Wines guide.
“The beginning of trouble”
A separation with his partner would be at the origin. “He is in a nursing home in Germany,” reports a close neighbor. Unverifiable remarks. His Facebook account doesn’t give much more clues. The last message posted dates from July 18, 2021. He thanked in German those who had wished him on his birthday. It is not recommended to go snooping on the domain’s website: “Be careful! If you access this site, attackers could enter information such as passwords, emails, or bank card data,” warns your internet browser.
We will date the first big problems of “Lulu”, as his Facebook friends call him, in July 2013. One night, the building recently built for the storage and labeling of bottles on his estate collapsed on him. -even. A construction defect with a loss of stock estimated at the time at €250,000. “The beginning of troubles and debts,” one wine grower believes. “I regularly receive complaints from other areas,” emphasizes the mayor.
“It’s like abandoning your children!”
At Domaine Vayssette, we are categorical: “These vines must be uprooted. They are abandoned, neither cut nor treated. Last year, we alerted the prefect who came to see it on site. This is worrying because there are treatment obligations against flavescente ore.”
In Broze, the same concern for Nathalie Caussé from the Gayssou estate: “We are located 500 meters as the crow flies. The risk of contamination of the flavescent is real. 500 meters is easy to cross for the leafhoppers which are small butterflies,” she says before insisting: “There is danger for the neighboring vines.”
DDM – MPV
A problem that never comes alone, in Montels, another estate is seriously struggling: “It is poorly maintained. Clearly, in my commune currently on 80 hectares of vines, half of it is abandoned.” There remain, in this village, estates to produce organic wines renowned for their high quality. “But all these wastelands do not give a good image of our terroir,” regrets Florent Martin, the Florybelle winemaker.
“It’s serious,” laments winemaker Bernard Plageolles. “Abandoning your vines is like abandoning your children!”
